Sdtrk: ‘Here come the harvest buns’ by Danielle Dax

As those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere may have noticed, we’re in the throes of summer. Awful, hideous, stifling summer. Technically, as it’s mid-August, we’re past the halfway mark, but this is by far the worst of the months. For the past decade or so, I’ve noticed that excessive heat (i.e, anything over 70°F) tends to exhaust me that much more quickly, as well as turn my brain into a lurid paste, so with that in mind, I’ve decided to take a wee holiday away from ‘Shouting etc etc’. To be honest, I should’ve done this after the blog’s anniversary, which would’ve made more sense… perhaps it’s time for a new tradition…

For those of you concerned that I’ll be on the same kind of hiatus that ‘Kitten with a Whip!‘ has been on since 2005 ahem, don’t worry; I’ll only be away about a month. For those of you hoping I’d be packing it in altogether, don’t worry; I’ll only be away about a month. Either faction can take heart in the knowledge that you don’t have a third straight year of me bitching about the fucking Woodward Dream Cruise again, so really, everyone’s a winner!
Now that I’m thinking about it, it’ll actually be more of a holiday from posting, as there are two articles I want to finish, as well as a product review I’ll be typin’ up rather soon, but I’ll burn those bridges when I arrive at them.

Right, that should be it! Should I manage to find out the airdate for the episode of National Geographic’s ‘Taboo’ that the Missus and I are slated to appear in in between now and the time I’m due to return, then of course I’ll let everyone know all about it, but apart from that, broadcasting should return to normal round 15 Sept. In the meantime, why not take this opportunity to hit up the ‘Shouting etc etc’ Time machine, found in the lefthand sidebar, and scroll merrily through this site’s vast and protracted archives? Or there’s always this! This is a hoot. Click her, drag her, but don’t judge her just because she has two left hands and feet. It might’ve happened to you too, y’know.

Looks like 1st-PC finally released their long-awaited Jean Seberg model Doll

And according to my WordPress Dashboard, it appears that this is post no.666. See you lot in a few weeks, and Hail Satan!

Sdtrk: ‘You’re not the only one I know’ by The Sundays

So upon getting home from work this eve, I learned that John Hughes, director of two of my favourite films, ‘Ferris Bueller’s day off’ and ‘The Breakfast club’, passed away today at the age of 59.

Comedy director John Hughes dies
BBC News | Published Friday, 7 August 2009

The US film director and writer, John Hughes, who created some of the most famous comedies of the 1980s and 1990s, has died at the age of 59.

The director died after a heart attack in New York, his spokeswoman said.

Hughes was the director of such successful films as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

He was also a leading script writer, penning films such as Pretty in Pink and Home Alone.

Over the past decade, Hughes withdrew from Hollywood and became a farmer in the Midwestern state of Illinois.

Hughes had been in Manhattan on a family visit when he died.

1980s zeitgeist

The BBC’s Vincent Dowd says Hughes had not directed a film since Curly Sue in 1991, but it did not matter – his early movies had become part of the 1980s zeitgeist.

If, in 1986, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off owed something to the on-screen energy of the young Matthew Broderick, it also benefited from Hughes’ sharp script and direction, our correspondent says.

He worked well with young talent, as he had already shown the year before in The Breakfast Club starring Emilio Estevez and Mollie Ringwald, he adds.

In the high-school story, our correspondent says, Hughes cleverly portrayed teen America to itself – and the box office was enormous.

“Many filmmakers portray teenagers as immoral and ignorant, with pursuits that are pretty base,” Hughes told the Chicago Tribune newspaper in 1985.

“They seem to think that teenagers aren’t very bright. But I haven’t found that to be the case. I listen to kids. I respect them. I don’t discount anything they have to say just because they’re only 16 years old,” he added.
the rest of the article is here

What he’d said above completely fits in with the way that ‘The Breakfast club’ starts — at the end of the opening credits, on the screen is an excerpt from David Bowie’s ‘Changes’:

…And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consolations
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…

The films of John Hughes will always evoke an acute fondness for the Eighties, my formative years, as I’ll always see parallels between his characters and the friends that I grew up with. I’m sure countless others will as well, no matter what decade they grew up in

EDIT (10.11am): You’ll definitely want to read the witty, heartfelt, and, well, John Hughes-esque post over at ‘We’ll Know When We Get There‘, concerning one person’s pen-pal relationship with the man

Sdtrk: ‘Benway’s carnival’ by Abecedarians

Draycott Place, Chelsea, London. I think this is a fine, 20th Century Modern place for a person to live; what do you think?

A corner terrace house built in the late Sixties, featuring four floors, five bedrooms, two reception rooms, two bathrooms, a roof terrace, and a separate garage. And it’s for saaaalllle.

Interested? Check out its listing on The Modern House Estate Agents. Should you buy it however, you have to let Sidore and I stop round to visit once a month, as a sort of a finder’s fee. Also, you have to let us choose appropriate Modernist decor. It only stands to reason, y’know